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My schedule for the Texas Book Festival – so hard to pick!

One thing that’s great about the Texas Book Festival is that you can make it as simple or full as you'd like. Families can be perfectly content hanging out on the Capitol lawn, rolling down hills, reading in the shade, wandering over to the Children’s Tent, or listening to music. Or study the schedule to meet your favorite authors and attend sessions. Here's where I'll be:

In a state experiencing phenomenal urban growth, we have to ask: What draws people to a new city and makes them stay? How do we come to feel at home in our new communities? Melody Warnick (This Is Where You Belong) and Trent Gillaspie (Judgmental Maps) talk about how we claim a place as home.

We love picture books for their poetic union of literary and visual art. Illustrators Brendan Wenzel, Michael Hall, Lauren Castillo and Carson Ellis will discuss how their styles and processes transport a story from a simple page to a soaring imaginary world. Artists and educators, this session is for you!
*my daughter’s pick

2:30 – 3:15 p.m. Science Is Spelled S.C.I.E.S.Z.K.A

Capitol Auditorium Room E1.004

Clever science experiments, funny jokes, and robot hijinks await as TBF MVP Jon Scieszka returns with Frank Einstein and the Evoblaster Belt! Kid-genius Frank Einstein has come up with his most incredible invention yet, the Evoblaster Belt, which zaps creatures from one species into another. We can't promise you won't leave this session as a rabbit, cat, beluga or chimpanzee; we can, however, promise that you'll have an absolute blast!

Or . . .

2:30 – 3:15 p.m. Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award

Ahora Si Tent (11th St. b/t Congress & Brazos)

Celebrate the winners of this year’s Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, Duncan Tonatiuh and Ashley Hope Pérez, with members of the Award’s national committee, Oralia Garza de Cortés, Manuel M. Martín-Rodríguez and Pat Enciso. They’ll discuss the meaning and history of the award and why it’s vital to honor, share and support Latino literature for young readers.

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. Hey Lolly Band

Children’s Entertainment Tent (Congress near 9th St.)

SUNDAY

11:00 – 12:00 p.m. Charlotte’s Web Bluegrass Music Performance

Children’s Entertainment Tent (Congress near 9th St.)

11:00 – 11:45 a.m. Artist’s Process: Creating for Kids

Capitol Auditorium Room E2.026

Successful children’s book writers and artists make the process seem deceptively easy. What does it really take to create an engaging work for kids? Illustrators and writers Matthew Reinhart, Patrick McDonnell, A. N. Kang and Minh Le discuss what they consider as they approach making memorable literature for young readers.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Ready, Set, Draw!

Children’s Entertainment Tent (Congress near 9th St.)

We’ll have a blast as three awesome, nationally-renowned illustrators go toe to toe and sketch to sketch in this rapid-fire, Pictionary-like drawing game! *my daughter’s pick

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Staci Gray

Children’s Entertainment Tent (Congress near 9th St.)

2:00 – 2:45 p.m. Big Dreamers Are World Changers

Capitol Extension E1.026

What does it take to change the world? Some might say money, some might say power. We say all it takes to save the world is a big dream (and maybe a good dose of hard work). Get inspired as Cynthia Levinson, Chris Barton, Donna Janell Bowman and Reyna Grande all share stories about big dreamers who became world changers.